Stay (A Maze Runner Fanfiction)
by Shucking fanfiction writer
Summary: What if Newt never went into the Maze with Group A? What if he and Aris switched roles? Stay follows Newt's life from his perspective from the point where he is sent into Group B's maze up until the very end. Featuring Sonya, Harriet, Rachel, Newt, and your favorite boys from Group A, this fanfiction is about friendship, struggle, love, and what it really means to stay.
1. Chapter 1

I woke up in a quick moving box. It appeared like an elevator of sorts. I heard the screeching of metal on metal as it came to a stop. I stumbled back and fell because of the sudden movement. Just as I was about to pick myself up, a blinding light filled my eyes. As my vision returned to normal, I felt the box shake when a girl jumped in beside me. "I'm Sonya, greenie. Welcome to the Glade."

Sonya helped me stand up and I looked around. There was a large crowd of girls standing around and staring at me. I looked at Sonya and asked, "Where am I?" She sighed and replied, "Like I said, you're in the Glade. Follow me, we've got to give you the tour. Amanda, Krista, and Lily, take the supplies out of the box and bring them to their assorted places in the Glade. I'll bring him to the Honestead and Harriet can give him the tour." Sonya barked out orders in a brisk manner. After a few seconds, nobody had moved and everybody was still staring at me. Sonya looked annoyed and asked, "Come on, why is everybody just standing there?" The girls looked around nervously before a big girl in the front with thick black hair replied,"That's a boy." I was a bit confused. Was I the only boy here? Sonya rolled her eyes and said to the girl, "Yes, I realize that Beth. Maybe WICKED realized that there are only girls in the glade and sent us up a boy. It's not a big deal." Everybody still looked nervous though, and Beth spoke up again. "But every month for three years, we've gotten a new girl. Why is this different?" Everybody seemed to agree with Beth. Everybody, that is, except Sonya. "I'm not sure why this one is a boy, but everything else is normal. Rachel came exactly a month ago, there were supplies in the box, so lets just go with it okay? Now, I believe I assigned jobs to some people. Get on it. Except Harriet and Rachel, you two come with me." Sonya ordered in a brisk tone. The girls dispersed, muttering among themselves. Sonya turned to me and said, "Follow me. We need to find out what's going on."

I was very confused. Sonya had just said that everything was normal, but then she brought me up to a giant house to discuss what was going on. I looked around. We had gone up several flights of stairs and were standing in a wooden room containing only a table and a couple of chairs. Sonya was staring out of the window, not saying a word. I decided to initiate a conversation. "So what exactly are we going to talk abo-" She cut me off. "Be quiet. I'm not telling you anything. You could be some sort of spy or something." I rolled my eyes. What did she think I was, a bloody assassin? Even though she was rather rude, I shut my mouth. After a few more moments, I heard the door opening. In came two of the girls I had seen crowding around me earlier. One was average height with long brown hair. She had chocolate brown eyes, both of which were staring at me. The other had short black hair and dark skin. She was shorter, with a stockier build. She was walking toward Sonya. Sonya spun around with a sigh of relief. "Rachel. Harriet. We need to talk about him."

Sonya had been arguing quietly with the other two girls for a while. To be honest, I was a bit irked that they wouldn't listen to me. I had a bloody lot of questions at that point. I couldn't remember my name or my age. I had no idea where I was and I didn't remember any of these people. Finally I couldn't take it anymore. "I'm right here you know!" I said loudly. All three girls stopped talking and turned to look at me. Sonya sighed and rubbed her forehead. "You're right. I guess with all of the commotion I forgot you're still a greenie." She apologized, blowing a piece of hair out of her face. I furrowed my brow, confused. "A what?" I asked. This time, the girl named Harriet piped up. "Greenie. It's what we call newcomers to our home, the glade." I nod, beginning to piece things together. Before I can ask anything else, Sonya cuts in. "Okay, Harriet will answer your questions on the tour. Right now we've got some more important things to address. Now, Rachel, you're sure you don't recognize him?" She said urgently. The girl Rachel studied me, her deep brown eyes studying my face. I had an unexplainable urge to crawl under the table and hide. She finally sighed, admitting, "I've got no memory of him." I looked at Sonya. She looked like she was either about to scream or cry. She bit her lip. "Okay. Okay, here's what we'll do. Harriet, give him the tour. Answer his questions, get him fed, and find him somewhere to sleep." Harriet nodded, walking out and beckoning me to follow. As I left, I heard Sonya give another order to Rachel. "Go find Aimee. Tell her I want the new maps drawn as fast as possible, and then for her to bring them to me." I briefly wondered what these maps were, but shrugged it off. I had bigger issues to deal with.

I followed Harriet outside, looking around. I wasn't paying too much attention when she showed me around. There was the large house we had just come out of, a wooded area, a farm, a kitchen, a garden. It seemed like your stereotypical farming town. After several hours of walking, and her telling me random facts about jobs and such, we went to the kitchen to eat. She grabbed two trays and brought them over to a table that was a bit more secluded. As we began to eat, she looked up at me. "I'm sure you're dying to ask some questions, so go ahead." She said, anticipating my growing confusion. I sighed. "Why can't I remember anything? Not even my bloody name?" I said frustratedly. She gave me a sympathetic look. "We're not sure. All we know us that every month, a new girl comes up in that box with supplies. Nobody can ever remember anything. Your name will come back to you in a few days, though." She explained. I felt a spark of relief that I'd remember my name soon. "Speaking of the people that put us here, where exactly is here?" I asked, scarfing down an apple. Harriet looked at me with wide eyes. Probably judging my eating habits. She shook off her shock and answered me. "Well, we call this the Glade. It's basically just what I showed you on the tour. It's surrounded by these big stone walls, behind which is a maze. We have people who run that maze every day looking for an escape. As for the people who put us here," she added, anticipating my next question, "we've got very limited knowledge about them. All we know is that they're called W.I.C.K.E.D." I frowned. "Wicked?" She rolled her eyes. "It stands for World In Catastrophe, Killzone Experiment Department. And no, we don't know what that means." She informed me, answering my next question. I nodded, trying to process it all. She began balling up her napkin, dropping it onto her tray. "Well, I'm sure it's been a long day for you. Let's find you somewhere to sleep." She said, standing and heading over to a trash can. I followed her, dumping my trash in the bin and setting my tray on top. As we exited the cafeteria place, I realized that everyone was staring at me. It made me very uncomfortable, and I hurried back to the large house. What did Harriet call it? The Homestead. Once we were inside, I looked at her pleadingly. "Could I possibly have my own room? I'd feel a bit...odd trying to get to bed with the constant stares." I begged. Harriet laughed. "Yeah, over here." She said, leading me to a small room. "Will this work?" She asked. "It's perfect. Thank you." I grinned. As Harriet turned to leave, she stopped and looked at me. "Oh yeah, and Sonya has three rules." She said, holding up three fingers. "One: do your part. Two: never hurt another glader. And three: never go outside those walls. Got it?" She asked. I nodded, feeling sleepy already. I laid down on the cot as Harriet left, closing the door behind her. Shutting my eyes, I settled in for my first night in the Glade.


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up to a blinding light in my eyes. Sonya was leaning against the wall, arms crossed and a smirk on her face. "Day one, greenie. Rise and shine." I slowly sat up, rubbing sleep out of my eyes. "Must you call me greenie? I'm not a bloody plant, you know." I grumbled. Sonya rolled her eyes. "You're trying out jobs today. Got to find something for you to do here." I groaned. "Right now?" I asked, hoping she'd just let me go back to sleep. Sonya walked over and roughly shoved me out of bed. That girl was strong. I tumbled to the ground, glaring. Sonya tossed me a pair of clothes. "Get dressed and be at the Chop Shop in 15 minutes." She said, walking out. I rolled my eyes, muttering about girls that think they're the queen of everything and got dressed. What was the Chop Shop again? I began to worry, internally cursing myself for not paying more attention during the tour. I wracked my brains. Chop Shop, Chop Shop. Yes! I remembered! The Chop Shop was where they kill the animals! I sighed in relief, sprinting to my first job tryout.

When I got there, Harriet was waiting for me. She smiled and greeted me. I politely returned the greeting, and then she led me to the Leader of the Choppers, Tina. Harriet quickly left, leaving me alone with Tina, the animals, and the stench of blood.

Tina was nice enough, I suppose. She was oddly eager about her job, considering that her occupation was killing animals. She was the only one who talked to me, though. Everyone else just stared at me, like at dinner last night. Whenever I met their eyes, they went back to their jobs. Anyways, I bloody hated it. It was absolutely revolting, and I barely lasted the three hours of training I was supposed to do. When I met Harriet for lunch, I couldn't even look at my hamburger. When I looked up at Harriet, she was grinning widely. "What?" I asked, confused. She shook her head. "It's real easy to tell whether someone wants to be a chopper or not. And you definitely don't." She replied. I nodded. "You got that right. What am I doing next?" I asked, pushing away my tray. Harriet grabbed my hamburger. I allowed it. "You're going to the gardens next." She says between bites. I nodded, allowing her to finish eating as I looked around. Everyone was staring at me again. "Harriet? Why is everyone staring at me?" I asked quietly, looking down. Harriet laughed. "They're just not used to you yet. You're the first bit any if them have seen for as long as they can remember. Once they get to know you and some time has passed, the novelty will wear off and they'll treat you like one of them." She said. I sighed in relief. "Ready to go?" She asked, standing to throw her trash away. I stood up, nodded, and followed Harriet to the gardens.

Harriet left quickly after we arrived, saying that she had to get back to her job. I introduced myself to Hannah, the leader of the gardeners. She smiled warmly at me and showed me around the garden, and how to do different types of work. She was was tall, with long blonde hair and bright green eyes. She was very friendly and I immediately took a liking to her. After she showed me how to do different jobs in the garden, she sent me over to help two girls plant wheat. I walked over. They started staring. I sighed. This was going to be difficult. I began planting, and they did the same, whispering together. It began to drive me insane. I decided to take matters into my own hands. I tapped the nearest girl on the shoulder, and both turned to look at me. "Hi!" I said brightly, smiling at them. Neither replied for a few seconds. "Having fun?" I asked. It looked as if they were going to ignore this too, but then the one on the right broke into a wide grin. "Yeah, and you?" She said. I was ecstatic. Finally, someone was acknowledging me! "Yeah, I am. What's your name?" I asked them. "My name's Lizzy, and this is Jackie." Lizzy replied, pointing to her friend. Lizzy had bright red hair and light blue eyes. She was very thin and lanky. Jackie had golden brown hair and brown eyes. She looked considerably shorter than Lizzy. Finally, Jackie smiled too. "Nice to meet you. Do you have your name back yet?" She asked. I frowned. "Not yet." Lizzy shrugged. "It'll be back soon, I bet." She assured me. The three of us talked until it was time for dinner, and the time flew by. When it was time for dinner, the girls invited me to sit with them. Their friends were a little surprised at first, but they warmed up to me. More girls started looking over, not with hostility this time, but curiosity. I went from talking to nobody to being friends with everybody. There was a small group of girls that still glared. They seemed to be led by that girl Beth. I wasn't sure what she had against me, but I shrugged it off. She'd probably get over it soon.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch. 3  
After dinner, I decided to go tell Sonya that I had picked out a job. I definitely wanted to be a gardener. Neither Sonya not Harriet had been at dinner, so I assumed they were in the Homestead. On a whim, I decided to try the room Sonya had led me to earlier. Luckily, she was in there. She was poring over dozens of maps with Harriet and an Asian girl, who I hadn't met yet. I leaned against the door frame and knocked on the wall. "Hello?" I said in an amused tone. Sonya looked up, cursing. The Asian girl glared at me and Harriet scrambled to shove the papers into a drawer of the desk. Sonya sighed loudly. "Harriet, Aimee, you can go. Eat some dinner, I'll deal with this." She orders. Both girls nod, Harriet slipping quietly out the door and Aimee roughly bumping me with her shoulder as she passed. I rubbed my shoulder, then turned to Sonya. "I-" She interrupted me. "Who do you think you are, greenie?" She asked angrily. I was a bit taken aback. "I just wanted to-" I barely got out those three words before she cut in again. "You can't just go wherever you want, whenever you want. Just because you're the first not we've ever seen doesn't make you special. Don't get a big head. Just get out, and go to sleep or go eat but don't interrupt me in a meeting, got it?" She yelled. I knitted my brows in anger. "Fine, I'll go." I said, turning to storm out. As I headed down the stairs, I heard Sonya's voice call out, "Wait. Stay." I grin, turning back. "I just wanted to let you know that I've selected a job." I said proudly. A faint smile grows on her face. "Yeah? And?" She presses. "I'd like to be a gardener." She nods. "I have to talk to Hannah first, but if she wants you, then you start tomorrow." She informed me, smiling. I nodded, thanked her, and headed down to my room. A bit later I hear a knock on the door. I opened it and saw Sonya leaning against the wall, smiling. "Alright, greenie. You're officially a gardener. You start tomorrow." I smiled happily. As she turned to go, I called out her name. "Oh, and Sonya?" I said. She turned around, raising an eyebrow expectantly. "It's not greenie. It's Newt." I said, grinning. I wasn't positive, but as she turned to go, I was pretty sure she was grinning too.

As the days passed, my life settled into a more routine pattern. I would wake up every day, work in the gardens until lunch, eat, go back to the gardens, have an hour or two of free time before dinner, eat, and then hang out with my friends or go to sleep. It was simple, but I enjoyed it. I began making more friends in the glade. I was pretty good friends with Lizzy and Jackie. After all, they were the first people to really welcome me to the glade, and they were very nice girls on top of all that. I didn't see Harriet very much, since whenever we weren't both at our jobs she was helping Sonya. I barely ever saw Sonya. I did, however, see Rachel a lot. Rachel was my best friend in the glade. During my free time, I'd go wait for her to come out of the maze and then walk to dinner with her. We talked all the time, and she was such an amazing friend. Life was great. I was well liked by everyone in the glade, except Beth's little group, but I tried not to concern myself about them. My perfect little routine, never changing until one day about two weeks in...  
Rachel and I were eating, and she was telling me about how she'd almost gotten trapped in the maze the previous night. I sighed. "Why do you have to be a runner? It's so dangerous." I complained. She smiled at me. "I love being a runner, and you know I can handle myself." I rolled my eyes. Obviously she could handle herself. She was the strongest girl I knew. "Yeah, but what if something happened..." I trailed off, not sure where I was going with the sentence. Rachel looked up at me. "Yeah?" She asked quietly. I looked back at her. Our faces were strangely close. What if I moved, just a little? I couldn't take it. I stood up, brushing myself off. "Well, I'm a bit tired. Off to bed, see you tomorrow." I said, cheeks burning. As I turned to walk away, I heard her walk up behind me. "Newt, wait." I turned back to her. "Wha-" I didn't finish as our lips met. Was I kissing Rachel? Did I like Rachel? After thinking about it, I realized that I did. I pulled back. "Rachel..." I whispered. She softly smiled. "See you tomorrow?" She whispered, walking back to the homestead and leaving me standing there, shell shocked. As I stated heading back to my room, I smiled.  
By the next week, we were dating. 


	4. Chapter 4

Exactly a month after I arrived, everyone was very excited. They were waiting to see if another boy came up in the box. I'll admit I was rather curious as well. Everyone waited around the hole for hours that night. That's why, in the morning, everyone was devastated when the box never came.  
The day after the box was supposed to come, I was weeding in a quiet corner of the garden when Beth came up behind me. "May I help you?" I asked, not looking up from my basket of weeds. When she shoved me over, I was more angry than scared at first. "Now look what you've done! I've been collecting those weeds all morning!" I yelled angrily, gesturing at the leaves strewn all over the ground. Then, she started beating me up. I didn't see it coming, I was too surprised to defend myself. I just yelled for help. As she hit me, Beth began screaming as well. "This is all your fault! Everything changed when you got here! It's ALL YOUR FAULT!" I just covered my face. What the hell was she talking about? Finally, someone pulled Beth off of me. I saw Lizzy and Jackie holding her back, and Harriet rushing towards me. I felt too overwhelmed. What had just happened? The last thing I saw before racing into the woods was Sonya's shocked face.

I just sat in the woods for several hours, trying to gather my thoughts. As I wandered back towards the garden, I heard sobbing coming from behind me. I frowned, following the noise. When I finally made it into a small clearing and saw the figure that was leaning against a tree, I couldn't believe my eyes. "Sonya? What's wrong?" I asked in a worried tone, walking over. She wiped her eyes. "Oh my god. This can't be happening. You aren't allowed to see me like this." She said miserably, tear tracks staining her cheeks. I looked behind me uncertainly. "I'll just...go then." I said, backing up slowly. Sonya looked up at me. "Wait...stay. Please." She asked quietly. I walked over, sitting next to her. I carefully put my arm around her. Even though she was obviously upset, I had no doubt that she could break my arm in half. She made no move to attack me though. She just laid her head on my shoulder and cried. 

After about half an hour, her sobs gave way to silent tears. She slowly sat up, wiping off her face with her wrists. "I have to go. We'll talk later. Don't tell anyone about this." She said, getting up and walking off. I stared after her. This was by far the weirdest day of my life. Sonya, stronger than stone, had just cried. And she had let me witness it. And she hadn't killed me. Yet. As I got up, I wandered back out into the gardens. When I neared the kitchen, Rachel flew into me with a crushing hug. "Oh my god, Newt, I was so worried! Are you okay?" She asked in a concerned tone. I nodded, wincing. "Yeah, I'll be okay." She sighed with relief. "Thank god." She said, kissing me. I lightly kissed her back, then noticed Sonya awkwardly standing there. I gently pushed Rachel off of me, and she faintly blushed when she saw Sonya. I looked at Sonya. "Do you need me?" I asked her. She nodded. "We need to question you about the attack. Come to the meeting room." She says, turning to walk away. I looked at Rachel apologetically. She smiled and shook her head. "It's fine. Go ahead." She said. I nodded, following Sonya to the homestead.

When I got to the meeting room, Harriet and Sonya were sitting at the table. Harriet had a pad of paper and a pen in front of her. I sat down in the chair. Harriet proceeded to question me about the attack. Things like where I was, who threw the first punch, what she said. I answered as best I could, looking at Sonya. Sonya very pointedly looked out he window the entire time. After lots of questioning, Harriet quietly informed Sonya that she had gathered all of the information that she needed. Sonya nodded. "Harriet, you're dismissed. I need to ask Newt a few more questions." She said authoritatively. Harriet quietly exited, leaving me and Sonya. Finally, she looked at me. "Alright, we need to talk about earlier." She reluctantly admitted. I nodded. She continued, saying "You will never speak of it to anyone. It never happened. You never saw me in the woods, you never saw me cry, and I definitely didn't ask you to stay. Okay? It was a moment of weakness, but it's over. I'm not fragile or delicate. If you treat me any differently, I will snap your leg in half." She said calmly. I nodded again, tentatively asking, "Would you mind telling me what was wrong? In exchange for my silence." She glared at me, then sighed, blowing a piece of hair out of her face. "It's been a stressful couple of days. First, with the box not coming up. We need the supplies in that box to survive. Secondly, Beth broke one of our rules, and that means she has to be banished. I wouldn't mind, but Beth has been here almost as long as I have. It will be hard for me to force her to leave." I looked at her, confused. "Banished?" I asked nervously. She nodded. "It's basically where all of the leaders force the banished person into the maze just before the doors close." I understood the punishment in that. They'd have to be there overnight, and though nobody really spoke of it. I knew what would happen. I thanked her and stood up to go. As I left, she quietly added, "And Newt? Thank you." I smiled at her before going to my room to try to manage to get to sleep.

As the days passed, the panic began to slowly die down. People realized that we weren't all just going to drop dead, and continued their lives as they had been. Sonya estimated that we had enough supplies to last us roughly two months before we would run out of some necessary items. I was a bit confused at first. We could grow food for as long as we needed it, and as long as the creek kept flowing, we would be fine. We could even breed the animals. After I pointed that out she got snapped that not everything was about me. I rolled my eyes. "Are you on your period or some-" Before I could finish the sentence, Sonya grabbed my neck. "If you say one more word," she hissed, "I will squeeze your neck until you stop breathing. Got it?" I nodded and slowly backed away. I realized then what she meant by "necessary supplies".

Rachel and I's relationship was not going well. She didn't do anything, I just...didn't feel the spark anymore. One day when she had just come from the maze and we were walking to the kitchen for food, I brought it up. "Look, Rachel, we need to talk." I said. She furrowed her brow, looking up at him. "What's up?" She said cautiously. "Look, I just really don't feel comfortable with this...relationship thing we've got going on here." I said bluntly. She nodded. "Yeah, I figured this would be coming soon. So are we breaking up?" She asked. I looked at her, shocked. How was she taking this so well? I looked at her suspiciously. "Yeah, I guess so." I agreed. She gave me an amused smile, asking, "Why are you looking at me so weirdly?" I shrugged. "You're just taking this awfully well." I admitted. She smiled. "I'm not stupid. I could tell you were losing interest. As long as we're still friends." I nodded. "Yeah, we are." I replied, smiling at her as we reached the kitchen. 


	5. Chapter 5

I began hanging out with Sonya more. Sometimes she would sit as I worked in the garden, helping me and brainstorming ways to get out. I didn't know much about the maze, so I basically just offered feedback on her ideas. Finally, one day, they figured it out.  
I was planting a new row of potatoes when she ran up, grabbing my arm excitedly. "We figured it out! Aimee and Harriet and Rachel and I, we figured it out! We're going to get out of here!" She exclaimed happily. I looked up, grinning. "When are we leaving?" I asked. She took a deep breath, looking at me with determination in her eyes. "Tomorrow. We've got to tell everyone first." I nodded. "Want to grab something to eat first? I'm starving." I said, standing up. She started walking to the kitchen.

After we grabbed our meals, we walked over to a tree by the gardens to eat. "I can't believe we're leaving." I remarked, devouring my sandwich. Sonya lightly laughed. It was a nice sound. "Yeah, it's pretty crazy." She admitted. We chatted about plans for leaving for a while longer until we had both finished eating and were just sitting there. Sonya looked around. "I'm kind of going to miss this place." She says quietly. I nodded as she laid her head on my shoulder. "I'm so tired from coloring all those maps." She said, sighing. I shifted so it would be a bit more comfortable for her. "I bet. But yeah, I'll miss this place too." I replied, looking up at the sunset. I really would, too. I'd made good memories here. "Hey, Newt?" I heard Sonya say. "Yeah?" I say looking down at her. She was looking back up at me, and even though I'd lost my memory, I knew I'd never seen anyone so beautiful in my whole life. The sun was bathing her face in a soft orange glow, and her eyes were looking directly into mine. I leaned down, softly kissing her. She sat still for a moment before leaning towards me, one hand around my neck and one on top of mine, her eyes closed. When I pulled back, she smiled. "I really hated Rachel for a while, you know." She said quietly. I smiled too, grabbing her hand. "Yeah. I think Rachel knew, though. I think she could tell near the end." I remarked. "Don't think this doesn't mean I can't still snap you in half like a toothpick." Sonya threatened half heartedly. I laughed, and as I leaned in again, I was sure I had never felt happier.

The next night, everyone was prepared to leave. We had grabbed all of our weapons, packing extra food and water. Sonya stood at the head of the group, just inside the maze walls. "Alright people. It's time. We're leaving this place." A rousing cheer from the group met her words. "It'll be dangerous, but whatever you do, just keep running. Aimee will lead the way, I'll stay at the back. Are we ready?" She yelled. Aimee looked at Sonya. "Shouldn't someone give a pep talk or something?" She asked. Sonya gestured at her. "Be my guest." She said, walking back to stand with me. Aimee squared her shoulders, looking at all of us. "Be careful. Don't die." She said plainly. I rolled my eyes. "Great. We're all bloody inspired." I muttered to Sonya. She snickered as Aimee began heading into the maze. I started to head back to the middle of the group when Sonya grabbed my arm. "No, stay." She said, pulling me to the back with her. I smirked. "Need your boyfriend to protect you?" I teased. I flinched as she punched my shoulder. "No, just want someone I can feed to the grievers as I make my escape." She joked, jogging past the doors. I laughed and I followed her. I took one more look at the Glade, before turning and not looking back.

As we sprinted through the maze, all was quiet except for the pounding of our feet on the stone floor. I kept looking nervously around, expecting a griever to pop out at any second. When we finally got to the Cliff, Aimee stopped in her tracks. There was a wall of grievers in front of us. Aimee experimentally threw her spear at one of them. The second it hit the griever, they all leapt out at us. We had been given instructions to get Sonya and Aimee safely to the cliff, so I was going to do that. I ran to the front, wildly stabbing grievers in an attempt to clear a path for Sonya. I saw her from the corner of my vision, and screamed, "Go now!" as I pushed a griever out of the way. She nodded, sprinting over and jumping into the Griever hole. She was closely followed by Aimee, who looked slightly worse for the wear. I got distracted too much, though. In the few moments that I spent watching Sonya and Aimee, a griever had come up behind me, pinning me down. I watched my spear skitter over the edge of the cliff. Shuck. Now I was defenseless. I was prepared to get killed by the griever when I saw a flash of bright red hair, and a long dagger. "Move!" Lizzy screamed as she removed her dagger from the griever's side. She faced it with a determined look on her face as I scrambled away. I heard Sonya yell, "We got it! Come on!" just as the griever barreled into Lizzy, pushing her thin body over the cliff. The last thing I saw before I jumped into the hole was a flash of red hair and a horrified pair of light blue eyes as Lizzy vanished from sight.

I slammed into the ground in the hole, looking up and seeing Aimee usher people into a tunnel. She glared at me. "Get up! Hurry! You're the last one!" She said, waving me over. I hurtled into the tunnel, quickly followed by Aimee. "They can't get in now, right?" I asked breathlessly. She nodded. "We're safe now." She said firmly. I smiled faintly, following Aimee down the tunnel.  
When we exited the tunnel, we saw the gladers standing by a door. Sonya had a relieved smile on her face. "You made it." She said quietly. I nodded, placing my hand in hers. It would be kind of awkward to kiss her in front of everyone. Aimee looks at Sonya. "So, why haven't we opened this door yet?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Sonya rolled her eyes. "We were waiting for you, your majesty." She deadpanned. Aimee rolled her eyes. "Well, we're going in." She announced, turning the doorknob. And, as a whisper to Sonya, added, "And tell your shuck boyfriend to get in shape. He's way too tired right now." Sonya laughed as we stepped through the door.

Everyone got silent as we entered the room. We were in a long hallway with glass windows on either side. Behind the glass was a plethora of scientists, scribbling on notepads. We were so caught up with the scientists we didn't see the lady in all white walking towards us, and the girl that was with her. That is, until Sonya looked over and uttered in a choked whisper, "Beth."  
We all whipped around. It was indeed Beth standing next to a lady in all white. We waited for them to say something. The lady began speaking about variables and testing. All I could focus on was Beth's eyes. They were fearful, almost rabid with terror. She began choking out words. "Controlling...my brain...forcing me...so sorry." She said, pulling out a thin metal gun. Tears were streaking down her face as she aimed and pulled the trigger. 


	6. Chapter 6

Time seemed to stop. I watched, horrified, frozen as I saw the bullet come at me, go directly next to my shoulder, and hit Rachel in the chest.  
I remember Aimee attacking Beth, Jackie screaming at the woman, Sonya's tear streaked face pressed into my arm. I looked at Rachel. Her eyes, chocolate brown, were open, her hair spread underneath her. Even in death her eyes had that piercing quality that made me want to hide when we first met. My body was wracked with sobs as I grieved.  
I barely remember the black clothed people who burst in. The people who loaded us into a truck, told us we were safe. I didn't remember any of that.  
I remembered Aimee digging her fingernails into her palm so hard her hand bled. I remembered Jackie crouched in a corner, sobbing over the loss of Lizzy. I remembered feeling like I would never feel okay again. Most of all, I remembered Sonya curled in my arms, tears tracking down her face in silent waves. I remember asking if she needed some time alone, and her replying, "No, stay." I remembered the horror struck faces of all of my best friends, because everyone lost someone that day.

We finally arrived at some sort of house place. There was a center room to eat at, a large room full of bunks for the girls, and I had my own room. As everyone was getting settled, Sonya came to my room. "Nice place." She remarked, an attempt at humor. I half smiled. "Yep. Do you want to go back with everyone else?" I asked, getting up. She walked over and sat down next to me. "No, let's stay." She said. I shrugged and sat back down, putting one arm around her. She leaned her head into my shoulder. "We did it. We escaped." She said in a small voice. I rubbed my forehead. "Yeah, but at what price?" I replied, my voice cracking. She looked up at me, eyes brimming with tears. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I figured out the way out, and that I convinced everyone to leave, and that it's my fault that Rachel died. I'm sorry, okay?" She said, bursting into tears again and laying her head in her hands. I cursed myself. Great, she thought that I was blaming her. I hugged her from behind. "Sonya, it's not your fault. Everyone knew what they were getting into. Rachel-" I close my eyes for a second. "Rachel knew that she might die. Rachel knew the price, and she was willing to pay it. If she was here, what do you think she would say?" I asked her. She looked up at me with a small smile. "She'd make a joke and tell me I should get over myself." I nodded. "See? It's not your fault." I comforted her. She leaned in. "I'm really glad you're alive." She whispered. As our lips met, I knew I didn't have to reply. She knew how I felt, and she felt the same way.

Sonya went back to her room after a little bit, grinning and saying that people would start to worry. I looked around, startled when a figure appeared at my doorway. I realized it was Jackie. "Hey." She said. I swallowed. "Hi. Come in." I replied shortly. She say gently in the bed next to me. She looked down. "Lizzy didn't make it." She said quietly. I was filled with dread. Lizzy died saving me. Did Jackie blame me? I knew Lizzy was her best friend. "Yeah." I replied uncertainly. She sighed. "She died fighting a griever." Jackie remarked, looking through the window. "Uh huh." I answered anxiously. Then, Jackie looked directly at me. "She died saving you." I exhaled. There it was. "Jackie, I-" She cut me off. "Lizzy died saving you. She gave her life to get all of us out of here, but specifically you. Honor that, okay?" She ordered calmly, looking at me sadly. I nodded, unable to say anything. Jackie gave me a small, sad smile before walking out the door, leaving me with my guilt.

That night, we all sat in the main room and ate together. People were still sad, but everyone was beginning to smile at the fact that we had escaped. Sonya and Harriet took a headcount, and we hadn't lost as many as we thought. Out of our original 52, there were 37 still alive. All things considered, a lot of us had survived. We were prepared to help each other through our grieving and start a new life in the real world. After dinner, the girls went to their room and I went to mine. I was woken up to men in my room. I asked what they were doing, and they said they had to move me. I didn't think too much of it, I was too tired. I simply followed them through a lot of hallways to a room that looked exactly like mine. I immediately fell asleep after I got there.  
In the morning, I went to the bathroom and then decided to go to the big middle room to see the girls. One problem: when I opened my door, I saw about twenty boys staring back at me. We looked at each other for a few seconds before I asked, "Who the bloody hell are you?" Two boys in the middle, one tall with messy brown hair and the other Asian with spiky black hair, looked at each other before the one on the left answered, "We're the gladers, shank. The question is, who are you?"


	7. Chapter 7

I bonded with the boys over the next few days. Me and the tall brown haired boy, Thomas, immediately clicked. I also liked the kid with the back hair, Minho. The three of us stuck together as we went through the scorch. They wanted to learn about my experience in the glade, just as I wanted to learn about theirs. The first night, Thomas went to talk to the one girl from their experiment, Teresa. I figured she was like the opposite version of me. Minho and I talked while Thomas was out. I kind of thought Minho might be a little like Aimee. They had similar personalities. Thomas was Rachel. Considering the circumstances that both of them came in, the last girl and boy respectively before one person of the opposite gender came. Except that in their experiment, Thomas didn't die. A young boy named Chuck did. I vaguely remembered a girl like that in the glade. Kat. She was sort of friends with Rachel, but I didn't talk to her much. She was nice enough. I guessed she was still with the other girls. They had a Beth, too. Some boy named Gally. He killed Chuck.  
I wondered while Minho talked, what if Teresa and I got switched? What if she was with my friends? What if?

The next time I saw Sonya, she almost killed me.  
We were in the scorch, and our two groups finally met. Everyone had drawn their weapons, but all I could do was stare. There was Jackie, looking a little scared but prepared to fight. Kat was standing near the back, with Liza standing near her protectively. Aimee was clutching two daggers and glaring at all of us. She looked a little worse for the wear. Her face was bruised. Harriet was standing next to Sonya near the front, eyes searching all of us and trying to figure out what was happening. Sonya was standing next to a tall girl with black hair and clutching a long knife. She had a fierce look on her face and dirt smudged on her cheek. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped in a look of shock when she saw me. I saw pain, anger, hopelessness, frustration, grief, and love all in her eyes. She didn't say a word, but ever so slowly leaned her head toward a gray building on our left. I quickly nodded. Teresa finished talking. I looked over and saw that she had grabbed Thomas and Harriet was reluctantly pointing her spear toward him. Minho started yelling in protest, and I joined him. Teresa hit Thomas, and told us if we continued to argue she would do it again. I reluctantly shut my mouth, but Minho kept yelling as they walked away. "Got to go to the bathroom." I muttered to him, running into the building as fast as I could.

I walked in, looking cautiously for Sonya. When I turned the corner, she almost stabbed my eye out. "What the bloody hell are you doing?" I asked, dropping my weapon. She hugged me, throwing her knife on the ground. "Oh my god. I can't believe we found you." She said happily. I smiled. "Yeah. What's up with that Teresa girl? You're the leader." I ask cautiously. Sonya's face immediately melted into a scowl. "She just showed up and took over. I honestly think the only way to get rid of her is to kill her, and I don't want to do that or your group will have it out for us." She sighed. "So I guess I'm second in command now." I rolled my eyes. "Stay with me." I begged her. She looked down. "Newt, you know I can't leave them." She said helplessly. And I know. She couldn't bring herself to leave the girl gladers. "Then I'll go with you." I suggested. She got an almost fearful look in her eyes. "Newt, you can't do that. Teresa... She hates you guys, and I don't know why, but I can't let her hurt you." She looked on the verge of tears. I shook my head. "Sonya, I don't know if I'll ever see you again if one of us doesn't stay with the other." I said frustratedly. She looked at me sadly. "I'm sorry, Newt." She said, quickly kissing me and running after her group, leaving me looking after her and feeling like she had taken a piece of my heart with her.

The next time I saw Sonya, we were fighting for our lives again. There were large creatures, sort of like grievers, but with bulbs you had to pop. Then you could jump into s little pod to protect yourself. I ended up in a pod with Sonya, Aimee, Harriet, and Minho. It was very cramped. Aimee and Minho immediately hit it off and started talking. They really were very similar. I conversed with Sonya and Harriet in hushed tones. It was the first time I'd spoken to Harriet since they moved me, so I was rather happy. We had a short lived reunion, because we had to jump into a Berg in a few minutes. I was running and I saw Harriet and Sonya leap into it as it began to take off. I sprinted as fast as I could and grabbed the door of the berg by my fingertips. Sonya and Harriet grabbed my hands and pulled me in just as the door shut. I thanked them, hugging Harriet and kissing Sonya. As tired as we were, we slept against the wall of the Berg.

When I woke up, I was in a white room. I remained there for almost a month before being released and seeing the boy gladers. The girls were gone. I wanted to scream. I kept coming so close, but losing them. A mousy man came in and begin explaining a bunch of scientific stuff about variables and a horrible disease called the flare. He told us that most of us were immune. I looked up, worried about the "most of us" part. I waited for him to read the names. "Here is the list. Newt..." I didn't hear anything he says after that. All I could hear was the ringing in my ears going, Newt, Newt, Newt. I wasn't immune. I probably had some deadly disease that I would never recover from. I'd probably be dead in a matter of months.  
I'd probably never see Sonya again.  
I was vaguely aware of Thomas and Minho standing protectively next to me, trying to shield me from what I'd just heard. But there was no going back.  
That night, I wrote a short note to Thomas. Though there weren't very many words, they were the hardest ones I'd ever had to write. I gave it to Thomas, told him to read it when the time was right. I knew he was the only one that could do it. I was scared, but I couldn't be a crank. 


	8. Chapter 8 (and Epilogue)

When Thomas and Minho left the berg to go into the safe city, I remained behind. I was slowly going mad. Sometimes, I would just feel so out of it, like I wasn't actually controlling my body. I paced around, nervous. I thought about the note. When would he read it? Maybe...maybe he'd do it when he got back. I suddenly felt scared. I wasn't ready. I wanted to hear Aimee crack one more joke. I wanted to see Harriet's shy smile again. I wanted to say goodbye to Sonya, kiss her one last time. I started panicking. I didn't want to be a crank. I just wanted to live happily, with my friends. With my family. Was that too much to ask? I wanted to talk to Hannah about gardening. I wanted to have a water fight with Jackie. I wanted to hear another one of Aimee's sarcastic comments. I wanted Harriet to explain something to me in a tone that shows that she's not really as annoyed as she looks. I wanted to give Sonya one more hug. I wanted so much more. It wasn't fair. I needed more. I deserved more. Why me? I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn't hear the soft footsteps, and the quiet voice that called out, "Newt?"

I couldn't believe my eyes. There was Sonya, running toward me with dirt and dust all over her, tangled hair and cuts on her arms and legs. But she looked so happy to see me. I stepped back. "Sonya, what are you doing here?" I asked. She stepped back, looking a little bit hurt. "I had to find you." She said simply. I shook my head. This was going to be so hard. "Sonya, you've got to stay away. I...I've got the flare." Her eyes widened and she caught her breath. "No. That's not possible. I thought we were immune..." She trailed off weakly. I nodded sadly. "Yeah. I've got it. I'm...already starting to feel the side effects. I'm going insane." I said, tears gathering in my eyes. She immediately rushed over. "It's okay. It'll be okay." She whispered. I shook my head. "Sonya, you've got to get out. Before I hurt you." I said quietly. She looked pleadingly at me. "I want to stay." She said helplessly, her voice breaking. "Please. You've got to go." I said, feeling like my entire world was crashing down around me. We both looked up when we heard a faint crash from the door. "Someone's coming. You've got to leave." I said, pulling her up. She gazed at me, eyes shining. "I love you." She said, leaning in for a short kiss. I looked at her, trying to memorize everything about her. "I love you too." I said, pushing her away. The last glimpse I ever got of Sonya was her sprinting around the corner, stopping for half a second to look back at me, then leaving forever.

As I laid on the cold pavement, I looked up to see Thomas's tear streaked face outlined against the dark night sky, begging me not to make him do this. "Please, Tommy, please." I whispered. I closed my eyes as he pulled the trigger. In half a second, a billion thoughts rushed through my mind. How I never said goodbye to Minho. How I forgot to tell Hannah thank you for being so kind to me. How I was going to miss Harriet and her quiet enthusiasm. How I never did congratulate Aimee for figuring out the maze. How I would finally get to see Lizzy and Rachel again. And the last thought that ever crossed my mind was how much I would miss Sonya, and how glad I would be when we were finally reunited again. How she would never know how important she was to me. How she was so beautiful and she didn't even realize it. How much I loved her. And how much I had wanted her to stay.


End file.
